DB Regio will operate regional services from Munich Main Station and Munich Airport via Landshut to Passau and Regensburg. The existing ÜFEX airport express service will be integrated with the Danube-Isar network along with the regional service between Landshut and Freising.
The Donau-Isar contract is split into two stages due to the addition of a second tunnel line for S-Bahn trains through Munich city centre, currently scheduled for 2028-2032.
Stage 1 comprises an annual volume of 5.3 million train-km. In stage 2, the annual volume decreases to 4.9 million train-km due to the integration of Freising - Landshut regional services into the S-Bahn network.
The Donau-Isar network includes regional train services on the following routes:
• Munich Main Station - Landshut - Plattling - Passau (Stage 1 and 2)
• Schwaigerloh - Munich Airport Terminal - Landshut - Regensburg (Stage 1 and 2)
• Munich Main Station - Freising - Moosburg - Landshut (Stage 1), and
• additional rush hour services: Munich Main Station - Landshut - Plattling/Regensburg (Stage 2).
Hourly service
Under the new contract, trains will operate an hourly service on all lines. In addition, gaps in the regular interval pattern early in the morning and late in the evening will be lifted, some even before the new contract starts. For example, from the 2021-22 timetable change, additional departures from München Main Station and Passau at 22.25 will create a continuous hourly service until after 23.00.
In addition, regional trains between Freising and Landshut, which currently only operate sporadically off peak, will run every hour from December 2024. There will be more direct peak services to Munich Main Station. Regional express trains will run every half hour between Munich and Plattling or Regensburg during peak hours when the new S-Bahn tunnel opens. Landshut will be served by up to four trains per hour during the peak, taking into account parallel traffic, such as the future hourly RE trains to Schwandorf and the future regional S-Bahn service.
New trains
The tender requires the purchase of new trains and DB Regio envisages operating 25 four-car Siemens Desiro HC EMUs on Munich - Passau and Freising - Landshut services, and six Siemens four-car Mireo EMUs on the airport express service with capacity for 264 passengers. The Desiro HC vehicles comprise single-deck coaches at both ends of the train with double-deck intermediate coaches, offering a total of 370 seats with the possibility to operate three trains in multiple on Munich - Landshut services.
The trains will offer air-conditioning, Wi-Fi, and electrical sockets, and meet passengers with reduced mobility requirements by enabling seamless access to 76cm-high platforms. The Mireo sets must be certified to operate in the Munich Airport tunnel.
Full details of the order are expected soon.
